Chowol, Gwangju Korean set-meal restaurant: three set meals at Bomseol

There's a delicious hanjeongsik (Korean set-meal) restaurant in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, so I went to check it out. You can eat unlimited barley rice bibimbap, cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew), and all the other basic side dishes as much as you want — I visited Bomseol, a hanjeongsik restaurant in Chowol, Gwangju.

I'm writing about a Korean restaurant in Chowol, Gwangju called 'Bomseol' where you can enjoy barley gulbi (dried yellowfin croaker), stir-fried pork, and grilled mackerel with unlimited barley rice bibimbap and cheonggukjang 💛

Where is Bomseol, and what are its hours and parking?

📍 51 Hyeonsan-ro385beon-gil, Chowol-eup, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do ⏰ Mon–Sun 11:00 ~ 20:30 / Break time 16:00 ~ 17:00 / Last order 19:45 🚘 Parking available in front of the store O

There's plenty of comfortable parking space right in front of the restaurant, so you don't need to worry about it at all. Also, after your meal, there's a stream flowing right outside, so it seems nice to have a coffee on the outdoor deck afterward :) The vibe really felt like a genuine hanjeongsik house.

Bomseol has such a warm, homey atmosphere :) Doesn't it just look delicious? Across from the dining area is a kind of waiting room. It's a space to rest in while waiting before your meal, or to keep chatting after you're done!

The three set meals ordered at Bomseol: barley gulbi, bulbeombeok, grilled mackerel

We debated what to eat and picked from the set menus. Bomseol's hansang (full table set) requires an order of 2 or more people, but the individual set menus can be ordered one portion at a time :)

• Master's barley gulbi ₩27,000
• Bulbeombeok (stir-fried pork) ₩20,000
• Grilled mackerel ₩19,000

We ordered these three menus. If you order a set menu, you get the master's side dishes, cheonggukjang, and unlimited barley rice included :)

Bomseol's self-bar: unlimited barley rice, side dishes and cheonggukjang

You can eat as much barley rice as you like, and there's plain white rice right next to it, so mixing them half and half makes it even tastier.

If the side dishes run low, you can just go grab more.

This is the cheonggukjang, and it's genuinely amazing here. We refilled it once. The staff were so kind that they even scooped the refill for us >.<

Since it's a great hanjeongsik restaurant, you can also buy the side dishes to take home.

They also sell kettle-cooked scorched rice (nurungji) and barley rice crackers. A proper little snack corner to cleanse your palate.

How fast did the food arrive at Bomseol?

The food came out really quickly after ordering. Everything arrived within 10 minutes, super speedy. The barley gulbi came out first, served together with green tea water. When eating barley gulbi, the perfect way is to pour it into the green tea water and lay the fish on top.

Bomseol has so many varied basic side dishes that the table practically groaned under the weight of it all. Isn't it incredibly generous? And even better, every single side dish is delicious, so the portion size plus the flavor is a perfect combo. After eating at Bomseol, you naturally think, I ate really well, that was a perfect meal.

This cheonggukjang is the kicker! It's packed with tofu and has that deep, savory flavor — genuinely delicious 💜

Grilled mackerel and bulbeombeok stir-fried pork at Bomseol

The grilled mackerel arrived too. It was cooked well and crisp, with a crunchy skin, and the mackerel flesh was so moist — a well-ordered menu item. All three menus we ordered this time were completely delicious. You should definitely order the fire-flavored stir-fried pork at least once. I always thought my own homemade stir-fried pork was the best, and I never bought it outside... but after trying this place, my opinion changed. Is this place's the tastiest one ever...?

The table was so full there was barely any room to set things down. It was so delicious and generous that it seemed like a great place to bring an honored guest.

Mixing the barley rice bibimbap, plus green tea water

You can't skip the barley rice bibimbap. Mixing Bomseol's herbs with plenty of bracken fern and a generous drizzle of perilla oil made for an absolutely perfect meal.

Green tea water is essential with barley gulbi!!!! 💚 Placing the barley gulbi over the cool green tea water made it taste even better. As always, precious dishes taste best eaten the traditional way.

Is Bomseol in Chowol, Gwangju worth a return visit?

It had been a while since I last visited Bomseol, and as expected, it was delicious and I felt glad I went. If you eat this for lunch, you'll still feel full by dinner. It was such a satisfying meal. Next time I'm in the area, I'll definitely stop by again. If you love hanjeongsik restaurants, give Bomseol in Gwangju, Gyeonggi a try!